NHL, union reach tentative agreement

NEW YORK (AP) - The NHL and the players' association have announced a tentative labor agreement that will save the hockey season.

A marathon negotiating session that lasted more than 16 hours and stretched from early Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning produced a deal that will ultimately end the lockout that reached its 113th day on Sunday.

The NHL avoided the embarrassment of having a second season lost because of a labor dispute when no other North American sports league ever had to cancel one. A lockout eight years ago that ushered in a salary-cap system to hockey for the first time wiped out the entire 2004-05 season.

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